Contributions

Some Examples

The Pro Enterprise Panel (PEP) initiative supported by the Ministry of Trade and Industry won the 2010 Commonwealth Association for Public Administration & Management (CAPAM) International Innovations Awards. The PEP emerged first in the category of “Innovation in Public Service Management and accountability.

The CAPAM International Innovations Awards celebrates the spirit of innovation in the public service by recognising those who have made significant contributions to improving governance and services in the public sector. Finalists had to convince a panel of distinguished judges why the initiative they represented is the most outstanding among all the other finalists.

Despite travelling to the competition alone and facing larger teams, Douglas managed to set up an exhibit and win the award in 2010 for the Ministry of Trade and Industry and Singapore. By generously sharing his experience with the other Commonwealth nations and explaining how the PEP initiative can be replicated in their countries to reduce business bureaucracy, he won goodwill and further affirmation for the Singapore brand of governance.

The Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) has concluded its promotional Asia Tour of Thailand and Singapore. The tour aimed to expand the base of Asian investors in Sharjah and open up channels of communication with new investment markets.

The first stop on the tour was Thailand, where the Shurooq delegation, which included CEO Marwan Jassim Al Sarkal, Director of Business Development Elie Armaly, and Director of Finance and Administration Saud Meqdad Al Suwaidi, met with the Thai Board of Investment and reviewed the vast potential of Sharjah and the UAE, as well as the investment opportunities in Sharjah for foreign companies that are looking to invest in and communicate with the UAE and world markets due to the UAE’s leading financial and economic position in the region, and the world.

After its stop in Thailand, the delegation moved on to Singapore, where it met with a number of organisations and authorities.

The Shurooq delegation then met with representatives of the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry, including Douglas Chow Tuck Kheong, Senior Assistant Director of Entrepreneurship at the Ministry’s Research and Enterprise Division, and a number of other officials. Both parties agreed to specify a joint work mechanism to create investment opportunities in the industrial and commercial fields.

Said Al Sarkal: ‘The tour was very successful, and we were able to achieve a number of our goals, most notably to introduce the investment opportunities available in Sharjah … to exchange expertise while getting a clear overall picture of the best practices carried out by Singapore to draw investors from all over the world…’